Toulminian Argument is named after British philosopher Stephen Toulmin. Essentially, Toulmin argues that good, realistic arguments consist of 6 parts. Support, Claim, Warrant, Qualifier, Rebuttal, and Backing. See the
Inventing Argument text for further reading.
See an example argument:
Congress should ban animal research
(Claim #1) because animals are tortured in experiments that
have no necessary benefit for humans such as the testing of cosmetics
(Support). The well being of
animals is more important than the profits of the cosmetics industry
(Warrant). Only congress has the
authority to make such a law
(Warrant) because the corporations can simply move from state to state
to avoid legal penalties
(Backing). Of course, this ban should not apply to medical research
(Qualifier). A
law to ban all research would go too far
(Rebuttal).
So, the law would probably
(Qualifier) have to be carefully written to define the kinds of research
intended
(Claim #2).
Toulmin Outline
I. Introduction of the problem or topic.
A. Material to get the reader's attention (a "hook")
B. Introduce the problem or topic
C. Introduce our claim or thesis, perhaps with accompanying qualifiers that limit the scope of
the argument. (NB: This will help you cut the topic down to a manageable length.)
II. Offer support for the argument.
A. Support #1
B. Support #2
C. (and so on)
III. Explore warrants that show how the data logically is connected to the data
A. Warrant #1
B. Warrant #2
C. (and so on)
IV. Offer factual backing to show that logic used in the warrants is good in term of realism as well
as theory.
A. Backing for Warrant #1
B. Backing for Warrant #2
C. (and so on)
V. Discuss counter-arguments and provide rebuttal
A. Counter-argument #1
B. Rebuttal to counter-argument #1
C. Counter-argument #2
D. Rebuttal to counter-argument #2
E. (and so on)
VI. Conclusion
A. Implications of the argument, summation of points, or final evocative thought to ensure the
reader remembers the argument.
Read Ryan Brown's "Community of Cars" or Lynda Smith's "Disconnected."
